Analysts Set Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) Target Price at $71.42

Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (NYSE:SQM) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $71.4167.

SQM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Friday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Price Performance

Sociedad Quimica y Minera stock opened at $87.35 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $78.03 and its 200 day moving average is $68.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 3.27 and a quick ratio of 2.25. The firm has a market cap of $24.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.95. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a one year low of $29.36 and a one year high of $95.46.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 14th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a return on equity of 9.69% and a net margin of 12.85%. As a group, research analysts expect that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post 6.74 EPS for the current year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be issued a $1.0295 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Sociedad Quimica y Minera’s payout ratio is presently 5.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 138.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Company Profile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA (NYSE: SQM) is a leading global producer of specialty chemicals and minerals headquartered in Santiago, Chile. The company focuses on the extraction and processing of key inputs for the agricultural, industrial and high‐tech sectors. Its core business activities include the mining of lithium, potassium and iodine, as well as the manufacture of value‐added products derived from these raw materials.

SQM’s product portfolio spans lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide used in electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems; potassium chloride and potassium nitrate fertilizers designed for precision agriculture; and iodine and its derivatives for pharmaceutical, food and electronics applications.